Send a Hello, USA

what a better way to greet you at the start of the new week, if not with these adorable stamps issued by USPS....so, Im sending a hello to all of you around the world and hope you have a fantastic and fruitful week ahead!

I fell for this issue, the moment I received a postcard with the "UP" stamp....I absolutely love that cartoon and i was so excited to have received it on a stamp...when it arrived on a cover, along with the rest of the stamps in the set, i was über-excited!!! And believe it or not, I have this fantastic set on 3 covers, where the one above and the one below, arrived on the very same day :D For the cover above, and the third one (which arrived a bit later), Bryon is to blame! For the cover in the middle, Patrick is to blame

the funny thing is, all covers have the stamps in the same order! I guess thats how they are sold :)

a few words about the stamps included here (how USPS described their issuing)

- Since 1986, the films of Pixar Animation Studios have stretched the boundaries of our imagination with stories about unlikely heroes who explore the bonds of friendship and family. Now some of those heroes are the subjects of colorful new Send a Hello (Forever®) stamps that encourage people to connect with loved ones through the mail. These new stamps capture the delight of finding a letter, greeting card, or package waiting in your mailbox. It puts a shine on the rest of the day-even before you've opened it. Despite all the ways we communicate with friends and family today, there's still nothing as personal as knowing someone took time to choose a card … write a letter … wrap a package … and even choose a special stamp simply to "Send a Hello"

-(dont you just recognize yourself as a postcrosser in the description above? I certainly do, coz one of my favourite moments of the day is when I find something in my mailbox, and see that someone has taken his/her time to choose a nice card for me, to choose the stamps, to write me a a nice message, to find something he/she knows I would like and send it to me to surprise me....the moments of the day when I go around the stores, finding nice cards and then coming home and see what to send to whom...finding a matching stamp or stamp(s) i know the recipient would love....the moments of going to the PO or to the philately and buy bunch of stamps, making sure there something in that pile for everyone's taste and preferences, finding that perfect card for someone and just jump around of excitement, wondering what the expression on their faces would be when they find that card as a total surprise in the mail.....)

Yup, those are definitely some of my favourite times of the day/week/month!

the following characters have been featured on the stamps (from left to right)

* Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars (2006)
* Remy the rat and Linguini from Ratatouille (2007)
* Buzz Lightyear and two of the green, three-eyed aliens from Toy Story (1995)
* Carl Fredricksen and Dug from Up (2009)
* the robot WALL•E from WALL•E (2008)

 technical details:

 Date of issue: 19 August 2011
Denomination: First-Class Forever
Type of Issue: Commemorative Stamp
Format: Pane
Manufacturing Process: Gravure
Paper Type: Nonphosphored, Type III,
Block Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Stamp Size: 31.12 x 31.12 mm


thanks so much to Bryon and Patrick for these!!! I LOVE them!! And thanks to ALL of YOU who had ever sent me a card or a letter or anything and made my day happier and brighter! This post is dedicated to you all!!!

200 years since the birth of Franz Liszt

this September the Macedonian post issued a stamp to commemorate the 200 years since the birth of Franz Liszt (yeah, a composer again ;-))

I must say that i really love this stamp as well as the FDC below, but again, the face value of the stamp does not really make it convenient for every day use :( It is such a pity, eh?

Franz Liszt was born on this day, 22nd October, exactly 200 years ago, in the Doborján village in Hungary. A great pianist, composer, conductor and teacher, one of the most prominent representatives of the New German School. He is said to have invented the concept of the piano recital. Before him, nobody dared to have just a single pianist for an entire concert! But Liszt’s powerful and astounding playing were enough to fill concert halls all over Europe. He changed the position of the piano on the stage as well, so that the sound board faced the audience. This meant the music was louder and the audience could see Liszt’s acrobatic hand-work on the keyboard.

His list of works is endless, so I wont go into it right now....if you are ever in the mood to listen so some virtuous fingers playing the piano, look up for Liszt's works....you wont be disappointed :)

date of issue: 21.09.2011
face value:    50 MKD
perforations: comb
printing technique: offset
Size:            40,2mm x 30,2 mm



edit:  sorry, but i just have to share with you one of my favourite Tom and Jerry cartoons...i think Ive always loved this one coz of the music in it...a music piece by Liszt....enjoy!

Frédéric Chopin, Macedonia

I don't usually make two different posts here in one day, but I just coulnd't seem to choose between these two...and if I had dug into my collection a bit deeper, Im sure I would have found something else to add too :)

Anyways, giving the priority to the older guy, as usually it should be.

Macedonian post issued this stamp last year to commemorate the 200 years since the birth of Chopin (huh, that's quite a long time ago....I just sometimes really lose perception of time and have the feeling that everything has happened just recently and that all the great people had lived in my time, or just a while before that:))
Well, today, 17th October, is 162 years since the death of this great artist, a child-prodigy of Polish/French origin (born in Poland, but his father was French).

He left behind a long list of great works....im sure you have heard at least some of them....if not, well, there is plenty to be found on the internet...I usually enjoy classical stuff while I have a lot of work and can't afford to be defocused by singing along some lyrics....yet, i cant really stand silence....so this kind of music just plays in the background and gets me going...

anyways, not so much rambling about myself...Im here to show the stamp and the FDC

the stamp above has a face value of 60 denars, or that would equal like 1 Euro, which unfortunately makes this stamp totally inconvenient for using it on the regular mail...only maybe letters to Australia/NZ or South America might get lucky...such a pity that some very beautiful stamps in Macedonia are issued in useless values.

Date of issue:         08.06.2010
Size:                      30,2 x40,2  mm
perforations:          comb, 14x14
Printing technique: offset

the stamp comes in a set of two, where the other one commemorates the 200 years since Schumann's birth....ive seen other postal services having issued these two along as well....

Kimi Räikkönen, Finland

well, 17th October is also the day when Kimi was born (not my cat, but Raikkonen! :)) I was just surprised to see that I havent posted yet these two special items in my collection.

this above is a mint version of the mini sheet which I received with huge thanks to Paul, while the FDC below was sent by my dear Essi!

The Finnish postal service issued this on 5 September 2008 to celebrate the fact that Kimi won the F1 championship the year before while driving for Ferrari.
Unfortunately, since then, Kimi didnt manage to show the same success, and eventually pulled out and went to WRC (to my HUGE disappointment). I still hope that one day he'll come back behind the F1 wheel....there are some other great kids there, like Button or Vettel for example, but to me, Kimi is irreplaceable, and despite F1 turning into the boredom it did, I kept watching it for Kimi. I mean, if he wants, he can drive for one of the Cosworth teams, I would still be cheering for him, coz i havent really been a team-fan anyways.

The commemorative issue is a self-adhesive miniature sheet bearing two 1st class non-value indicator stamps.

size of Kimi's stamp:     27.3 mm x 33.0 mm
size of Ferrari's stamp:  74.0 mm x 30.05 mm
perforations:                 12x12

Happy 32nd birthday to Kimi!!!!

Admission to the United Nations, Mongolia

So this week's theme at Sunday Stamps is Mainland Asia...so I guess this fits in the criterion?

I really wasnt sure what to post, and in order to spare you from more trains,  I went for this set of 5 Mongolian stamps issued in 1962 which commemorate Mongolia's admission to UN.
The stamps are diamond shape and their face value is 10, 30, 50, 60 and 70 мөнгө, where the middle bottom stamps represents the UN Headquarters and the Great National Hural of the Mongolian Peoples Republic.

Mongolia became a member of the United Nations on 27 October 1961.

Being rather old and from a country as Mongolia, I consider these as rather rare stamps...to which I have to thank my dear mum :)

For more Asian stamps, click the big button below

Happy Sunday All!

Churches, Mosques and Temples of Russia

it is quite difficult to decide what to choose from the plethora of European stamps I have, but in the end my choice fell on this cover i had received from Russia

the reason I love it is, first, coz of the number of stamps it has and their format, second coz it is so nice and colourful...and the stamps are just so nicely arranged!

here are 8 stamps out of 14 which the Russian post office issued back on 12 July 2001, portraying Russian Churches, Mosques and Temples.
Each stamp in the set has a value of 2.50r and and are 37x37 mm in size. Offset printing process. Comb = 11 1/4. Paper = coated.  The stamps you can see on this cover are as follows:

-top 3 stamps, from left to right show: 1) Nuruula Mosque in Kazan city, built in 1845-1849; its alternative names are Sennaya and Seventh Sobornaya; 2) Evangelical Pentecostal Prayer House in Lesosibirsk, built in 1999; 3) The First Cathedral Mosque in the city of Ufa, built in 1830

- middle two stamps: 1) The Renascense baptist chirch, Bezhitsy in Bryansk, built in 1996; 2) St. Petersburg's Lutheran church of St.Peter, built in 1838;

- bottom three stamps: 1) The Armenian Temple of Surb Khach built in 1792 in Rostov-on-Don + Khachkar (stone cross) from the 13th century in St.Daniel Monastery, Moscow; 2) Church of the Immaculate Conception of our Lady in Moscow, built in 1911; 3) The Choral Sinagogue in Moscow, built in 1891

there are also two 1998 definitives attached at the top right corner..


For more European pieces of art, visit the Viridian's blog

World Expo Shanghai 2010, New Caledonia

i was wondering what to post for the Sunday Stamps tomorrow...and thought that before that I give you another post, featuring this great cover from New Caledonia

Great....and rare as well...I mean, how often does one receive mail from New Caledonia, esp. such nice covers as this one.
Holger from Belgium was the one who decided to surprise me with this small gem! Thanks so much to him!

The cover features a stamp issued on 12 June 2010, for the World Expo Shanghai 2010. I think many countries decided to commemorate the EXPO event. Stamp width = 48.0 mm, height = 27.0 mm.

This one in China was held on both banks of the Huangpu River, from May 1 to October 31, 2010. It was a major World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions, the first since 1992. The theme of the exposition was "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as the "next great world city".

It had the largest number of countries participating and was the most expensive Expo in the history of the world's fairs. The Shanghai World Expo was also the largest World's Fair site ever at 5.28 square km.
On October 16, 2010, the expo set a single-day record of having over 1.03 million visitors enter the exhibition that day

well, pretty cool for sure! :)

And I love that awesome cancellation on the left side!

Roadside Attractions, Canada

an amazing and perfect cover sent by Bryon!

this cover features a lovely mini-sheet showing Canadian Roadside Attractions. The Canadian post had decided to portray some roadside attractions that are simply too large and too whacky to go unnoticed.

These landmarks include:

- Davidson, MB, halfway between Regina and Saskatchewan used to be “the” place to stop for coffee before the highway was rerouted. What better way to welcome weary, caffeine-deprived drivers than with a giant, towering coffee pot It is a tribute to the town's hospitality and is 7.3 metres tall which makes its capacity to fill nearly 150,000 cups of coffee ( top left corner stamp - and probably my favourite! I mean, it is COFFEE we are talking about :))

- The Gladstone, Manitoba town mascot, the Happy Rock, is mounted on top of a tourist booth. The over 7-metre high attraction is a recognizable landmark along the Yellowhead Highway and weighs more than 700 kilograms (top right corner)

- an enormous Atlantic Puffin in Longue-Point-de-Mingan, QuebecThe Atlantic Puffin in Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Quebec is a tribute to the charismatic seabirds. The 1.8-meter high fibreglass monument was built in 1995 and is located by the seaside where the birds live (bottom right corner)

- The giant steel Wawa Goose that is perched outside Wawa, Ontario, has been around since the 1960s. The current goose is the third steel tribute to the wild geese of Northern Ontario. The 8.5-meter high, two-tonne monument is located along the junction of highways 17 and 101 (bottom left corner)


technical details:

- date of issue 5 July 2010
- Width: 35.0 mm
- Height: 41.0 mm
- Denomination: P
- Layout/Format: self-adhesive booklet

 the stamps are pressure sensitive and printed on Tullis Russell paper using lithography in eight colours plus spot varnish. They are general tagged on four sides
-

Heritage Railway Stations of India, India

I was a bit doubtful when preparing this update, regarding what to put and what to exclude, but in the end I decided that it would be the best if I just placed all I had regarding this issue....in case you have something additional belonging to it, feel free to contact me :)

and these are the first Indian stamps featured here as well....so Im glad to have the chance to present you this stuff.

As the title says, this issue presents the Heritage Railway Stations of India and consists of 4 stamps, as you can see above...the stations represented are as follows:
- top left corner shows Howrah Station (one of the four intercity train stations serving Howrah and Kolkata) - bottom left corner shows the Old Delhi Station ( the first railway station to be built in Delhi)
- top right corner shows the Chennai Central Station (the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai and home of the Southern Railway and the most important rail hub in South India)
- bottom right corner shows the Mumbai CST Station (is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. It is one of the busiest railway stations in India, and serves both as a terminal for long distance trains terminating in Mumbai as well as the Mumbai Suburban Railway)

I was happy to receive this Special Cover for this issue, commemorating the Frontier Mail from Bombay to Peshawar via Baroda.

The Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CI Rly) was a company incorporated in 1855 to undertake the task of constructing a railway line between Bombay and Baroda in India. Baroda (Vadodara) was a part of historic BBCl Railway. The first train came to Baroda on 9th January 1861 and the city was connected with Broach and Surat. In 1863 BB&CI Railway completed the Surat-Baroda-Ahmedabad line. Bombay (Grant Road) was connected with Baroda in 864 via Navsari and Bulsar. By 1879 Baroda was connected with Delhi via Palanpur, Ajmer, Jalpur and Alwar. On 5th November, 1951 the BB&CI Railway was merged with the Saurashtra, Rajputana and Jaipur railways to give rise to the Western Railway.

The frontier mail was flagged off on 1st September 1928, from Colaba Terminus, the main station on the BB&CI Railway. It was the first luxurious and prestigious train in the Indian Subcontinent. The radio facility was provided for the first time in a running train in India and it was also the first fastest train of India. After Independence, it is running between Mumbai and Amritsar. The train has now been renamed "Golden Temple Mail".

And Im honoured to have not one, but TWO fantastic FDC copies...since the stamp's arrangement is different, i can freely consider them as different and equally important for my collection!
One arrived as a lovely surprise from Laura, and the other one arrived from Som.

Indian Railways has stood as an emblem of progress spanning over 150 years. In this period, it catalyzed India's industrialization and has emerged as a lifeline of India's development. Some railway structures are monumental in nature representing significant developments in architecture and technology. On 15.08.1854 a train ran from Howrah to Panduah. This Heritage Run is commemorated by the release of a set of four stamps representing four Heritage Railway Stations in India.
A plan for railway in India was first put forward in 1832. In 1844, the Governor-General of India allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system. The first train became operational on 22nd December 1851 in Roorkee. On 16th April 1853, the first passenger train ran between Bori Bunder, Bombay and Thane, covering 21 miles. The rail network then developed rapidly, radiating from Bombay, Madras, Calcutta and Delhi.
Railways in India were patrons of a style that combined the prestige and relevance of train travel with imaginative innovations of engineering. They were designed with grandeur and dedicated to the customer for eternity. Also, the four Metro Stations - Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi were monumental in scale, striking architectural creations of the 19th century, innovatively designed and incorporated local traditions and craftsmanship. They became a focal point of each city. With the coming of the Railways, there came up railway stations, Railway companies vied with each other to build imposing railway station buildings.
In 1853, India's first train should have started from Howrah but the ship bringing the coaches sank in the river Hoogly and the steam locomotive was mis-dispatched to Australia. It opened in 1854 as the first in the East and amongst the first few stations in India, as a temporary tin shed, for just two pairs of trains, a small booking office and one line along a narrow platform. The first train of the East Indian Railway, driven by Joshua Greenbo, ran from Howrah to Hoogly on 15th August 1854, a distance of 24 miles. This led to India's 1st commercial railway goods corridor from Howrah to Raniganj. The present day station became a necessity with increasing number of trains and opening of the Bengal Nagpur Railway from Howrah in 1900.
From humble beginning for just 5 carriages of only one train, Howrah Station now is among the largest railway stations in the world, catering to all major cities in India, handling over a million passengers a day through 23 platforms and over 300 pairs of trains. From within its magnificent archaic structure, huge crowds and the olden day charm of this great monument make this a wonderful destination. It became and still remains a gateway to the entire eastern and northeastern India.
The first imposing heritage station of the Railway's came up with the Victoria Terminus, housing the office of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Company. This building was started in 1878 and it was completed and thrown open to the public on New Year's day 1888. The ceiling are very high and exude a sense of space and freedom. The magnificent monument was designed by F.W. Stevens. The decorative carved detail was executed by native carvers from models supplied by Mr.Gomez and the students of the Bombay School of Art. The buildings are faced with a light buff coloured Coorla stone with dressings, cornices and moldings in Porbandar and Seoni stones. The total cost of the whole building was about Rs.27 lakhs. All the work was entirely executed by indigenous labour. In quick succession came the large and imposing station buildings at Madras and Howrah. The landmark in Madras Central Station is the Victorian Clock Tower.The Howrah Station has a predominance of arches with a touch of contemporary British architecture and local trappings. Railways came to Delhi with the establishment of the imposing Old Delhi Railway Station constructed in 1867. The building has several Gothic features. The two-story building has deep verandas on both floors and though the original building is in a good condition, many modifications and additions have since been done. Semi-octagonal turrets rise from the corners of the building.

Date of issue: 16 August 2009
Denomination: 5.00 INR (each stamp)
Width             57.0 mm
Height             32.0 mm